Benjamin B Roberts - XPO_magazinehttp://benjaminbroberts.com/?q=en/XPO_magazine
enAmsterdam City of Freedomhttp://benjaminbroberts.com/?q=en/node/98
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://benjaminbroberts.com/sites/bbroberts.capdevelopment.nl/files/styles/large/public/field/image/XPO%20Summer%202017.jpg?itok=aJTJmRZU"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://benjaminbroberts.com/sites/bbroberts.capdevelopment.nl/files/styles/large/public/field/image/XPO%20Summer%202017.jpg?itok=aJTJmRZU" width="410" height="580" alt="Summer 2017" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-book-title field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Title:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">XPO Magazine Summer 2017</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>n the seventeenth century, Amsterdam with all of its immigrants was the precursor of New York City. In the latesixteenth and early seventeenth century, more than 150,000 Protestant refugees fled from - nowadays Belgium - to theDutch Republic, of which many settled in Amsterdam. Ties van Dijk, spokesman and initiator of the project 'A Statue of Liberty for Amsterdam' argues "A city that hosts more than 170nationalities today, deserves to have its own monument which symbolizes freedom and tolerance". He believes its high time tosymbolize the city's long history of tolerance and immigration with a liberty monument on the IJ River.CITY OF IMMIGRANTSAlmost four years ago Van Dijk, manager of VOLA, came up with the idea to have a monument after attending a debate about the growing number of tourists in Amsterdam. Van Dijk laughs, "In those days we didn't have half the number of tourists visiting the city as we do today, and we were still smack dab in the middle of the economic crisis, and not to forget we had no idea about the Syrian refugee crisis that was awaiting". Van Dijk argues, "Amsterdam has a long history of tolerance, with its ups and downs. We thrive on foreigners. They bring us new ideas and they make the city dynamic. The thing is that many of the city residents seem to forget that". He adds, "Most Dutch people think they are 100% Dutch, but once they start digging in their family tree, aftera few generations they soon realize that they have German, Eastern or Southern European roots". GROWING INTOLERANCEThe growth of intolerance is one of the main reasons why Van Dijk thinks that a large-scale monument must be established right now. "It would be the ideal weapon against xenophobia." Van Dijk adds, "Americans celebrate their cultural diversity when they think of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty". He points out, "Of course, in Amsterdam we have a liberty monument; the National Monument on the Dam Square, but that only represents those who perished during the Second World War in Europe and Asia. It only represents a designated period of time in history". Van Dijk believes that Amsterdam needs a physical symbol that represents immigration as a continuum throughout history, and their important role to the city's economy and cultural development. And if there were no immigrants from the Southern Netherlands, Germany, and the Sephardic Jews in the seventeenthcentury, there would not have been a Dutch Golden Age. THE FINALISTSEarlier this year, Van Dijk in collaboration with the Academie van Bouwkunst, Architectuurcentrum Amsterdam (Arcam), Conservatorium Amsterdam, and the Department of Business Economy of the Amsterdam School of Applied Sciences wrote a prize for the architecture students of the Academie van Bouwkunst to design a monument that would be located on the spearhead of Java Island in Amsterdam's IJ River, which represents freedom. Several of the 45 students who submitted entries, originate from China, Central and Eastern Europe, countries with a former communist government. The design entitled 'Equilibrium' from the Lithuanian architect, Elena Staskute, is one of the ten finalists. Her design features a broad quay on three sides where boats can dock and includes an elevated point so visitors view the width and openness of the western harbour. Van Dijk jubilates, "Imagine Amsterdam's monument facing the west, the Statue of Liberty in New York facing the east. The two will be looking at eachother from almost 6,000 kilometres from the other side of the Atlantic". Van Dijk quietly inserts, "The monument is still dream but then again... everything starts out with a dream".</p>
</div></div></div>Mon, 28 Aug 2017 11:34:01 +0000Benjamin98 at http://benjaminbroberts.comToneelgroep Amsterdam: The Poster-Child of International Theatre http://benjaminbroberts.com/?q=en/node/96
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://benjaminbroberts.com/sites/bbroberts.capdevelopment.nl/files/styles/large/public/field/image/XPO%2010a.jpg?itok=37Nyo903"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://benjaminbroberts.com/sites/bbroberts.capdevelopment.nl/files/styles/large/public/field/image/XPO%2010a.jpg?itok=37Nyo903" width="410" height="580" alt="April-June 2017" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-book-title field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Title:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">XPO Magazine April-June 2017</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>In the last ten days, the Amsterdam-based theater group has performed in New York, Paris, and Moscow. He laughs, "you can't get any more international than that". Van Ransbeek specifies, "Three different productions, for three different countries. Otherwise our actors and production crew could never keep up". Van Ransbeek always accompanies TA when they perform abroad. That's his job. While the theater group's director, Ivo van Hove focuses on the artistic side of productions Van Ransbeek heads the international aspect, and isresponsible for developing its talent's program. Van Ransbeek laughs, "it's an ideal marriage, which allows Van Hove to focus his creativity".InternationalIn the last few years, despite the Dutch government's cutbacks in the cultural sector, theatre and concert attendance in the Netherlands was up 13% in 2015 in comparison to 2014. The Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported that annual theatre attendance has progressively increased from 1.9 million in 1998 and reached a zenith in 2014 with 2.2 million attendees. Van Ransbeek confirms a significant growth of people attending TA's performances. In 2015, more than 120,000 people in the Netherlands attended one of their performances, and 40,000 abroad.TA is booming. One of the reasons can be attested to their international outlook on productions, which distinguishes them from other theatre groups in the Netherlands. Both Van Hove and Van Ransbeek travel extensively abroad and have an endless curiosity for foreign theatre. In season of 2016-2017 only, the group had performances in Paris, Seoul, Taipei, New York, Rome, Barcelona, and Moscow. Van Ransbeek points out that performing in the Dutch language is not an obstacle for foreign audiences. With the translated surtitles, they can still follow the dialogue on stage. In April the theatre group will stage 'Kings of War', an adaptionof William Shakespeare's 'Henry V', 'Henry VI' Parts I, II, &amp; III, and 'Richard III'. It's the political drama of 'House of Cards' and 'Game of Thrones' all wrapped up into one, was last performed in New York City at the beginning of November, just a few days before the American elections. The New Yorker reviewed and called it, "The First Great Theatrical Work of the Trump Era". Van Ransbeek smiles, "for those who like binge watching and suspense, it's a must. Thursday evenings the performances have sur-titles in English.Van Ransbeek points out, "being international is not only 'selling' productions abroad like exporting tulips. It's also about learning from other theatre cultures and adapting new ideas and forms into our plays. It's an exchange from both sides". Van Hove stimulates working with young and talented foreign writers and directors including the Australian writer, actor, and director Simon Stone (1984), who broke through at the age of 30 on the international circuit, and the Broadway director Sam Gold (1978), who won a Tony in 2015 for the musical 'Fun Home'. It's a way of keeping the company's repertoire fresh. In 2015 guest director, Sam Gold staged Tennessee William's 'Glass Menagerie' in Dutch. Van Ransbeek argues, "In the US, contemporary American directorsare afraid of changing anything to the iconic play. The southern accents, the decors. It's ingrained in the American culture and is as American as apple pie". But in Amsterdam, Gold was forced to readapt it to transcend cultural boundaries and focus on the characters. Moreover, it had to be performed in Dutch, which was another hurdle for the New Yorker who doesn't understanda word of Dutch. In the end, the challenges gave him an entirely brand new perspective and allowed him to tell the same story with another twist. Van Ransbeek adds, "Now he is going to stage it with his new insights on Broadway next year, in English".Besides guest directors, Ivo van Hove also works with other companies and foreign actors. Van Ransbeek argues, "that has also added to the theatre company's popularity". In 2016 Van Hove won a Tony for 'A View from the Bridge' and directed David Bowie in 'Lazarus'. In 2015, Van Hove worked with Juliette Binoche who starred in Van Hove's 'Antigone', and in April 2017, the BAFTA-awarding winning and two-time Oscar nominee, Jude Law will perform in Van Hove's 'Obsession'. In November, Van Hove won the IJ Award of 2016, a prestigious accolade from the city of Amsterdam and accountant and audit giant Price Waterhouse Coopers forhis international contribution for socially, culturally, and economically furthering the development of Amsterdam.Social MediaVan Ransbeek believes that theatre has become popular in the last few years has a lot to do with the development of social media and on- demand TV. In an era with Facebook, Youtube, and Netflix when you can see anything you want alone, attending a performance in a theatre is a unique experience. It happens only once. No two performances are identical. The vibes and dynamics between the actors and audience for each performance are completely different. Van Ransbeek smiles, "sometimes I think audiences secretly hope that actors will forget a line or make a mistake just so they can say they witnessed that oneunique moment". Van Ransbeek supposes as people live more in a virtual world filled with technology, having real life experiences as in the theatre are only going to become more popular. He concludes, "People want to share theirexperiences with others".Kings of WarStadsschouwburg Amsterdam13-29 April, 2017Various dates, Thursday evenings with surtitling in English </p>
</div></div></div>Sun, 20 Aug 2017 20:21:41 +0000Benjamin96 at http://benjaminbroberts.comOctober-December 2016: Though the Eyes of Africahttp://benjaminbroberts.com/?q=en/node/95
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://benjaminbroberts.com/sites/bbroberts.capdevelopment.nl/files/styles/large/public/field/image/XPO%209a.jpg?itok=zxQY3EOD"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://benjaminbroberts.com/sites/bbroberts.capdevelopment.nl/files/styles/large/public/field/image/XPO%209a.jpg?itok=zxQY3EOD" width="410" height="580" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> Klein adds, “With its thought-provoking undertones, ‘Making Africa’ is an exhibition that the Kunsthal Rotterdam is not afraid to host”. The traveling exhibition opened October 1 and runs through January 15, 2017 and was organized by Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein. Germany aims to break conventional ideas about Africa and gives a glimpse of a new and dynamic Africa, one that westerners are not familiar with. The exhibition has been to Bilbao and Barcelona already, and will travel to France, UK, and possibly the US next year. It features more than 120 experimental artists and designers from a generation of modern thinkers and makers from Africa that are also digital savvy. According to Klein, digital technology is changing Africa rapidly. With more than 650 million cellphone subscriptions for a total population of one billion, the continent has more people online than Europe or the US. In Africa, people do more with their smart phone including bank transfers than western consumers.The True Size of Africa In the first galleries, the exhibition immediately confronts us with the physical misconception about the shape and size of the continent. One map displays Africa upside down. Most people are used to looking at maps where the north points to the top and south to the bottom. A second map, named True Size of Africa by Kai Krause, depicts the continent with "China, USA, India, Japan, and most of Europe fitting inside it. Klein states, “For years the map of Africa has led us to believe that the continent was not that big. There are fifty four countries with one billion inhabitants, and its cities are widely diverse from Cairo in the north to Cape Town in the south”.African Middle ClassAnother misconception about Africa is that many want to migrate to Europe. The continent has an enormous wealth and it is where the next economic boom will hit. Today thirty four percent of Africa’s population belongs to the middle class. Just thesame, she adds, “There is also extreme poverty”.Sharing EconomyKlein started researching for the exhibition five years ago which included trips to five countries and seventy interviews. Klein points out that, "The object of the exhibition is to illustrate through modern art, photography, crafts, furniture and fashion that Africa has always been an example for Europe, especially in times of economic crisis. Now, Europe is again in crisis and looking for solutions to their problems, and Africa has some very good answers. One of those, Klein calls “informality”. Klein, who earned a degree in business and economics before studying at New York’s 'School of Visual Arts', argues that Africa differs the most from Europe with its informal economy and lack of regulation of society. “Things in Africa occur organically”, she adds. This ranges from a public transportation set up by various taxi drivers with vans who provide transportation for an entire city to child-care where a mother can re-enter the workforce after childbirth, and leave the child with a member of her extended family, who will raise it”. The informal or “sharing economy” of Africa has swayed over to Europe. Now we see the same kind of informality in business concepts such as Uber and Airbnb. She smiles, “We have so much to learn from Africa, and that knowledge is beingshared today quicker than ever before via Internet”.El AnatsuiOne of Klein’s highlights is a majestic, mosaic frieze by the Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui. Upon closer inspection, the shinny fabric is not made of textile but metal bottle caps. El Anatsui (72) was inspired by disregarded bottle caps that he found near the city of Nsukka, in Nigeria, where the artist has his studio. Unlike bottles that were recycled in the local distillery, the caps were thrown away. “El Anatsui has taken what most people considered refuse and turned it into a valuable material to create elegant works of art”. In May 2012, one of El Anatsui’s metallic tapestries sold for more than 600,000 euros at a London art auction. Klein predicts, “In the future the word ‘recycling’ won’t have the same derogative and moral connotation anymore. In Europe, we’ll consider all material, used or unused - equally valuable for creating art. That’s what we’re learning from Africa already”. </p>
</div></div></div>Sun, 20 Aug 2017 20:04:23 +0000Benjamin95 at http://benjaminbroberts.comXPO Magazine: September 2016: Banksyhttp://benjaminbroberts.com/?q=en/node/90
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://benjaminbroberts.com/sites/bbroberts.capdevelopment.nl/files/styles/large/public/field/image/XPO%209-2016.jpg?itok=xruG_3NH"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://benjaminbroberts.com/sites/bbroberts.capdevelopment.nl/files/styles/large/public/field/image/XPO%209-2016.jpg?itok=xruG_3NH" width="400" height="400" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Street ArtWith spray paint, stencils and use of walls in public space, Banksy is definitely not the average artist inthe art world. For one, his works can be found on random blind walls of street alleys, parkinglots, or the walls of subway corridors where most people usually expect to find defaced surfaces clad with drawings and illegible texts, also known as tags, that have a meaning for only a select few. The tag is perhaps themost important expression in graffiti and is in fact no more or less than the signature of the maker.In this jungle of tags Steven Lazarides and curator Chris Ford of Lazarides Gallery in London who first took notice of Banksy backin the early 2000s. According to Ford, "Banksy's message transcends all social boundaries. His work touches the core of human emotions. There is no language or cultural barrier for the viewer, no university degree in art history required or complicated theory to understand his work. Bam, it grabs you just like that!".Bristol a cultural pressure cookerBanksy has been active as an artist in the 1990s but made his big breakthrough in the period 2000-2007 when Steven Lazaridesbecame his agent. The two knew each other from Bristol in the 1990s when Banksy was influenced by Robert Del Naja, theleader singer of the triphop band Massive Attack. The band was part of the musical movement 'Bristol Sound' and produceddance classic like 'Unfinished Sympathy' and 'Teardrops'. Del Naja first started as a graffiti artist before he became a vocalist.Most of the sleeves of Massive Attack's LP's were designed by Del Naja. Recently, there have been rumors that Del Naja andBanksy are the same person. Massive Attack had concert dates in the same locations that coincided with exhibitions of Banksy,"But that is probably just a coincidence", Ford laughs. "Bristol in the 1980s and 1990s was a pressure cooker of creativity wheresubcultures influenced each other. There was also a darkness to it, with a touch of humor". Even today Bristol remains one ofthe most progressive cities in the UK. </p>
</div></div></div>Sun, 20 Aug 2017 16:46:12 +0000Benjamin90 at http://benjaminbroberts.com